Training Log Archive: Bash

I still haven't figured out all my training goals for 2019 but one of them is to log something every day. 50 days in, and there are no blank days so far! Until mid-January, my goal was to log some strength, mobility or yoga every day but my good intentions were foiled when I totally forgot on the eve of the Dontgetlost Snowshoe Raid.

Today was a minor triumph. Many days last year were marred with bad news and/or stress from various sources, and it crushed my motivation to train. Today was like old times - and not in a good way. After the final straw - a depressing 45-minute phone call with the contractor managing our bungled deck project - there's no question that last fall I would have given up and poured a glass of wine. But I reluctantly dragged my butt out the door just before dark, and I'm proud of myself.

A sunset snowshoe "run" around Palgrave West that was mostly *not* running due to steep hills and gnarly bushwhacking. I ran flats and downhills that weren't covered in tangled thorns or fallen logs. AdventureDog was in Extreme-Alert-For-Wildlife mode and I had to keep calling him back, which isn't typical. He frightened a flock of wild turkeys roosting in some dead trees, and when they took off all aflutter, I heard branches crack above me - yikes! I ran but nothing big fell down.

I was walking in 'Bent's snowshoe tracks from yesterday because I wondered if his Garmin had over-estimated the elevation gain. He recorded 320 m of climb in 5.66 km, which seems like a lot for Caledon. Turns out my Ambit data wasn't as different as I'd expected. I expect Garmin distance to be a little longer on twisty routes because they use a different algorithm to identify errors. I just looked back and remembered that he turned off his watch accidentally for a few hundred meters and estimated what he had missed, so there really isn't much difference.

Beautiful evening!

'Bent, the pooches and I went for a Family Day ski around Palgrave West. Since BazingaDog can't be trusted off-leash, 'Bent was skijoring behind him. This is how they commute to the dental office at this time of year so they are an experienced team.

AdventureDog did his part by taunting BazingaDog and setting the pace. I chased after them all and managed to get some photos and video when B-Dog finally got tired and slowed down. It was another bluebird winter day. What a nice long weekend!

I hated to do this instead of playing outdoors some more but I'm only 8 weeks away from my first ultra in a year. I figured the treadmill would keep my injured ankle as happy as possible.

O Cup #4 Ukrainian Club
Bendor and Graves Tract, East Gwillimbury

This was the closest orienteering event to Veinbuster's house in a long time so I talked him into trying his first O race. It was actually quite easy after I offered a solution to the old "I don't have a compass" problem.

Eugene and Igor had planned an interesting course with an O Cup box *and* an O Cup circle, which was a new one! It looked like a Venn diagram but the controls that fell into both "boxes" had to be visited twice if you wanted to count them in each box.

The main trails were hard-packed from local hikers so the running was fast. There wasn't much soft snow on top of the dense lower layer so it was pretty quick to move through the woods off-trail too. In a few steeper places, I managed to hit the ice layer, which added to the adventure.

I felt like I was running pretty well. I'd taped my gimpy ankle within an inch of its life although I never felt the tape kick into action. Most of the time my ankle is not inclined to get sprained, luckily. I've had some weird heel and arch pain since last weekend but I've been really fortunate that it hasn't been worse because it felt serious when it happened.

I was happy with my nav. I could have moved with more confidence from #3 to #4 but I'm happy with my route even though I walked too much of it. I left the trail a little early before #5 thinking it would be farther in the woods because my brain has trouble getting used to 1:5,000. Otherwise, I don't think I would change anything.

I surprised Eugene, who wasn't watching the finish yet, so that was nice! The SI software was confused by the controls that some people visited twice so the results will need manual adjustments but it looks like I won. :)

Thanks, Eugene and Igor! We came home with a bottle of wine and two nice crystal glasses.

I need to be better about cooling down after races so I headed back into the woods to look for Veinbuster. I thought it would be fun to shadow him and be available for consultation if needed. He had one control left in the first box when I found him so we continued from there. As a male, he has to do two more controls per box than I do, which is rough for a first-timer. (The Orienteering Ontario board has been discussing ways to handle O Cup handicaps better.) He did well and finished his full course. He was aiming for last place but there were still two racers out in the woods when we left. Best of all, he says he would do it again!

'Bent and I went on an Expotition (as Winnie the Pooh would say) this afternoon. We skied over to Palgrave East and around the Reddington golf course, then bushwhacked around their fence (sshhh!!) to access the Caledon Trailway that leads to Albion Hills Conservation Area. I didn't carry food or water to ensure I'd have an excuse to stop for hot apple cider at the chalet.

There were lots of people out on the Albion Hills trails for Family Day Weekend, and it was nice to see so many skis on the racks outside the chalet. It did mean we had to be cautious on downhills and politely weave around a few people but that's OK.

On the way back, we left the golf course across the road from Wheelie Woods so we could ski home through Palgrave West in the warm evening light. There aren't many better ways to spend an afternoon. :)

Thoughts and prayers to American friends as they deal with their National Emergency. I would have thought the emergency would be gun violence or climate change but hey, what do I know?

'Bent and I went to the Hockleycrest trails near Orangeville for the first time this winter. They're in great shape after the storm this week! They were rolled a couple of days ago, and some were track set although they had drifted in by today. After our visit, there are tracks almost everywhere.

These trails are maintained by dedicated Bruce Trail volunteer Dave Moule who buys gas for the groomer himself. So if you go, don't forget the tiny donation box tucked behind the sign at the parking lot (5 Sideroad near the Tai Chi Centre). https://hockleycrest.blogspot.com/

Today I won Adventure Enablers' Valentine's Day contest on Facebook, which means I get a small discount on one of their races. They were looking for adventure race sayings that could be printed on candy hearts, e.g. "I always have lube", "I can do it for 24 hours" or "Talk navigation to me". The entry with the most "likes" would win.

My entry was: "Slow down - we all have to finish together."
I'm not telling my Mom about this, lol!

Unlogged treasure hunt, gently shovelling snow in the area where 'Bent thinks he dropped all his keys. Ugh.

High resistance skiing at Albion Hills! I thought I'd get out to enjoy pristine conditions before the Family Day Weekend crowds but a lot of skiers had been out already. I had my waxless backcountry skis to break trail but there wasn't much of that so it was like wearing boat anchors. Good training though! Some of the trails had been track set while others had just been skied in. The warming snow was a bit sticky but the snowy forest was beautiful.

A Day with Damian Warner, Canadian Decathlon record holder. I'm posting it here because it's cool to see what an Olympian does in winter to get ready for 10 different summer events. Also, Coach LD's brother is Damian's head coach and appears in the video. Something is wrong with the music though.

The Colorado trail runner who killed a mountain lion with his bare hands agreed to an interview. Yikes, yikes, yikes!!!
https://www.kunc.org/post/meet-colorado-man-who-ki...

And there's a video interview too.

After the wind died down, AdventureDog and I went snowshoeing in the fluffy powder from the storm. I wore heavy plastic MSR snowshoes for extra stability for my injured foot. If I were really being careful, I wouldn't have been bushwhacking; some of it was really messy. It was still way more fun than snowshoeing on trail. I purposely climbed as many little hills as I could. I *think* A-Dog is a little tired now.

Miscellaneous - mostly legs and feet.